Dive Brief:
- Healthcare stock prices have soared following the landmark King vs. Burwell decision that allowed millions of Americans to keep their government healthcare subsidies.
- A decrease in uncompensated care has renewed investor confidence that the majority of patients will now have health insurance.
- This renewed confidence has resulted in higher trading numbers for publicly-held health systems.
Dive Insight:
"Approximately 13 million Americans gained coverage under ACA out of approximately 50 million prior uninsured," Fred Weiss, managing director of mid-cap growth equity strategy at Atlantic Trust, an Atlanta-based wealth management firm, told Healthcare Finance News. "The Congressional Budget Office expects this newly insured population to double over the next few years, further reducing the uninsured population."
"By January, investors will have a better picture of what enrollment looks like," Phil Kamp, CEO at Chicago-based Valence Health, told Healthcare Finance News. "If enrollment lags significantly behind expectations, trading will likely go down. Conversely, if we learn that even more folks purchased insurance or are now covered by Medicaid, prices would move upward."